Former Scotland rugby coach Matt Williams has accused South Africa rugby of “abusing the bench” after the Springboks used seven forwards as replacements in their win over New Zealand.
The Springboks laid down a marker ahead of the Rugby World Cup with a commanding victory at Twickenham, with the All Blacks suffering a record 35-7 defeat after Scott Barrett’s sending off.
The conventional bench split in rugby has been five forwards to three backs since an extra replacement was added to a matchday squad before the autumn of 2012.
South Africa, however, most often employ a six to two split, favouring an extra forward and trusting their backline versatility. Head coach Jacques Nienaber had initially selected two backs on the bench for his side’s final warm-up game, but after Willie le Roux was forced to withdraw with a niggle, back rower Kwagga Smith, a former sevens star, was called on to the bench.
Williams, who coached Scotland between 2003 and 2005, has urged World Rugby to act on what he perceives as an abuse of the replacement system.
“The South Africans are just abusing the bench at the moment,” Williams told Off the Ball’s Monday Night Rugby.
“The bench [orignially] came in all for safety reasons. People didn’t come on for positions they weren’t trained for so we weren’t putting back rowers in the front row. Everything was done for a reason.
“They had seven forwards [against New Zealand]. Seven forwards… really? Seriously?
“And World Rugby has just got to act on this. The way you fix it is say you must have three recognised backs on your bench. And that stops it. But right now South Africa just change the whole pack.”
Australian Williams was sacked by Scotland in 2005 having won just three of his 17 games in charge.
South Africa open the defence of their World Cup crown against the Scots in Marseille on Sunday 10 September.
The impact of the Springboks’ bench forwards, nicknamed the “Bomb Squad”, was key to their 2019 triumph, ensuring that there was little drop off when replacements were used in the second half.
Yet Williams believes Nienaber’s side could come unstuck this time around.
“In 1999 when the Wallabies won the World Cup I was coaching the Waratahs,” Williams explained. “[Australia] had one tighthead prop, who did the whole tournament. We were one injury away from disaster.
“To win you’ve got to have luck going your way too. South Africa are walking a tightrope, if they get an injury in the backline, it could come back to get them.”
Nienaber admitted that the seven/one split had been a gamble after Friday’s win, suggesting that he was unlikely to utilise the bench blend during the World Cup but not entirely ruling it out.
“The least risk for a bench is a 5-3 split to cover the most positions. 7-1 is a big risk, and we were fortunate tonight we did not get any backline injuries,” Nienaber said.
“It is something that we train for, with certain forwards to fulfill some roles in backline play. We have to plan for those scenarios with all the yellow cards that go around these days.”
